Rapper Too Short dead? Not so fast, Twitter!

SOURCE: What does rapper Too $hort have in common with Morgan Freeman and Britney Spears?

The reports of their deaths have been greatly exaggerated on Twitter — with the Oakland hip-hop legend just the latest to suffer Mark Twain’s tragic fate (or not) via 140 characters or less. This disturbing trend regularly freaks out fans, with false info spreading like digital wildfire on the micro blogging site.

Thankfully, Too $hort himself (@tooshort) cleared up the rumors with a rather hilarious series of tweets, (mixed with a little self-promotion!): “ Stop calling my phone. I’m not dead. Been in the lab working on my 19th album #NoTrespassing in stores Feb 2012,” and “Are U serious? How did they say I died this time? And when did wikipidia & twitter become reliable news sources???”

The 45-year-old performer is best known for early Bay Area rap classics like “I’m a Player” and “Life Is … Too Short”; with any luck, he’ll continue to prove that latter title wrong, whether or not the Twitterati like it.